


A most illogical cultural practice

by MakinaNeko



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Academy Era, Awkward Flirting, F/M, Flirting, Pre-Relationship, Starfleet Academy, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:33:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28179891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MakinaNeko/pseuds/MakinaNeko
Summary: When Nyota Uhura became Commander Spock's teaching assistant, she quickly discovered that helping him navigate baffling human behaviors and implicit social expectations was part of the job.She just never thought it would get this personal.
Relationships: Spock/Nyota Uhura
Comments: 14
Kudos: 48





	A most illogical cultural practice

When Cadet Nyota Uhura enters the Xenolinguistic building, everything is still dark, so different without the rush of Cadets that roamed the corridor only a day prior. It's the first day of winter break, a Saturday, and 8:00 in the morning, so it's not like she should be surprised. There is one office, though, from which light pours out in the corridor from the half-open door. This is where she is headed.

"Good morning, Commander Spock," she says, knocking on the door to notify her presence.

"Good morning, Cadet." The Commander stands near the window, a steaming mug of tea in his hand; a stack of padds is neatly piled in a corner of his desk.

After an entire semester of being Commander Spock's teaching assistant, Nyota knows the quiet routine of their interactions, so that the way he observes her while she hangs her coat and drops her bag on her chair feels entirely familiar. Comfortable, even, she thinks as she sees the mug of tea waiting for her on the desk. She wants to smile, but she doesn't. Instead, she says "Thank you". At the beginning of the semester, he would probably have argued it was only logical to procure her tea at the same time as his own. But he too has learned from her, the human illogical need to handle social interactions through meaningless niceties, so he just answers, "You are welcome".

Nyota wraps her hands around the hot mug and takes a sip of the fragrant beverage. It's good, strong, and comforting. She takes another sip and stifles a yawn.

"I apologize, Cadet Uhura. In scheduling this meeting, I failed to consider that you would be in need of rest, considering the 6 final exams in the last week and after attending Starfleet Academy Winter party yesterday evening. Perhaps you would like to postpone our meeting ?"

"It's fine, Commander," she says, repressing another yawn, "Moreover, you too attended the party."

She approaches his desk and starts browsing through the padds of the Advanced Phonology final they're here to grade.

"As a Vulcan, I require less sleep than the average human."

That may be true, but while she looks at him, Nyota thinks there is something around his eyes that's softer than usual, something that isn't there during the semester and makes him look like he could use some sleep, too. Not for the first time, Nyota wonders whether he has someone to take care of him, not that she should be thinking about that, so instead, she says, "Did you enjoy the party, sir?"

As soon as she says it, she knows it's a mistake, because, 'Commander Spock' and 'party' in the same sentence sure sounds like an oxymoron. She fidgets with the stack of padds on his desk before she realizes she's doing it, and she makes herself stop.

"It was acceptable."

She has become more adept at analyzing his moods and interpreting his subtle changes of expression, but in this instance, Spock's carefully neutral expression remains indecipherable.

For all she knows, he may have spent the whole evening standing straight in a corner of the reception hall. She knows it for a fact, actually, since she spent a good part of the said evening trying to devise an excuse to come and speak with him. When, slightly tipsy after one too many drinks, she finally resolved to act, he was nowhere to be found. Which was better, probably. Who knows what she could have said to him.

She realizes she has been staring at him lost in her thoughts for the past several seconds because he is now seated in his chair and looking up at her expectantly, as he asks, "Did you find the event entertaining, Cadet Uhura ?"

"Oh … uh…", Nyota stammers unexpectedly.

Everyone knows that Commander Spock isn't one for small talk. But then again, she had been also surprised to see him at the party.

"I'm not a huge fan of these events, but Gaila really wanted to go, so…"

She grabs another chair to sit next to his desk, and takes a padd, ready to start the grading. They have quite an optimized routine now; grading together a few padds to adjust the grading criteria, before dividing up the remaining exams between them.

"Do you mean Cadet Hexis-Kyse ?"

Nyota looks up from her padd, surprised that Spock would continue the casual conversation on this mundane subject while they have work to do.

"Yes, she is my roommate, and she can be awfully convincing."

"I see."

The Commander takes a sharp inhale, which Nyota knows is a sign he is about to ask a particularly pointed question.

"Are Cadet Kirk and Cadet Hexis-Kyse in a romantic relationship?"

Nyota is taken aback at this question, and for a fraction of a second, it seems that the commander is too, his eyes blinking once before his face sets in a too carefully blank expression.

"God no!"

The exclamation leaves her mouth before she can think better of it. Gaila and Kirk made such a show of lascivious dancing and blatant disregard for propriety that Nyota was pretty sure by the middle of the evening that some vigil would come and kick them out for indecent behavior.

"I mean, not really. They were only flirting," she amends a bit more slowly like it's normal for her to discuss the romantic status of her fellow cadets with a member of the teaching staff, her boss, and commanding officer. It's not, and she wonders for an instant if Commander Spock can feel it too, the weirdness of the situation.

Apparently not, because Spock carries on -- with almost the same ease they discuss xenoliguistics for hours at end -- "I have already heard this term but remain unclear as to its meaning. Would you please enlighten me, Cadet?"

She's done it before, of course, explaining to him baffling human customs and strange colloquialisms. She understood quite early in their acquaintance that his apparent rigidity mostly stemmed from the great difficulties he experienced in navigating everyday social interactions. When she took up the habit of relying less on tacit verbal and social cues and reducing her use of body language to a minimum, their relationship greatly improved. Spock soon seemed to relax in her presence and started to turn toward her for an explanation of many social situations. Overall, he had greatly refined his skills on this matter these past few months, although he still tended to adhere to the literal meaning of set expressions, something she finds quite endearing if she ever were to admit the thought to herself.

She spends a few seconds organizing her thoughts, trying to frame her explanation in an objective yet comprehensive manner.

"Hum…flirtation is an indirect and socially acceptable means to express sexual or romantic interest in someone, usually using a combination of body language, speech modulation, and tone, and chosen vocabulary in the form of double meaning and innuendo. It often takes the form of playful teasing."

She pauses for an instant. "But in their case, it's not very relevant. Kirk would flirt with anything that symmetrical and identifies as female."

Out of loyalty to her roommate, Nyota does not voice the fact that Gaila does not even have such reservations. Not that Gaila would mind, she had always taken great pride in applying her Orion charm to the greatest variety of species, genders, and anatomies.

Spock lifts a single eyebrow, a capacity that Nyota finds endlessly fascinating.  
"It does not appear to be a very discriminate way to look for prospective partners."

"Yeah… well… Kirk is not a very discriminate sort of guy."

Nyota winces, because, really, she should not be discussing the romantic life of a cadet -- even if this cadet is as hopelessly annoying as James T. Kirk -- with a member of the faculty.

"I maintain that the practice seems to lack the required efficiency."

It is not the first time that they have had such an argument. During her time as a TA, they have already dissected the intricacies of handshaking -- a most unsanitary habit, by Spock's reckoning; social drinking with co-workers -- which led to an examination of current massive inebriation practices among students in general, and cadets in particular; coming of age rituals among various Terran cultures; acceptable practices for congratulating acquaintances on personal events -- which stemmed from a rather awkward but hilarious moment upon the announcement of Lieutenant Marino's pregnancy when Commander Spock expressed his wish for her child to have a "healthy genetic makeup"; and the practice of diminutive forms and nicknames -- to which Commander Spock reflected that human parents seemed to possess a really poor grasp of phonological capabilities of their peers, as the given name of their offspring was inevitably altered by other adults into a barely recognizable moniker.

So, if Nyota knows something of Commander Spock when he examines one of these most illogical human cultural practices, it's how thorough he is in his analysis. Which makes her eager to steer the conversation clear of the particular instances he may have witnessed -- or hopefully not -- the night before. Better stay on the aspect of anthropological theories, rather than delving into the particulars.

That's what makes her say, "Inefficient, sir? How so ?"

As expected, Commander Spock continues. "It appears that a failure from the targeted individual to reciprocate the flirt may indicate a lack of interest, unfamiliarity with the social expectations related to this practice, or a trait of character such as timidity. As each of these hypotheses calls for different corrective actions, I fail to see how this practice may lead to an increased chance of procuring a mate." Spock's tone is the same he uses in the classroom when he explains the most complex concepts of phonological science.

"Sir, I partly agree with your analysis, but I think you may have overlooked the performative nature of the practice," says Nyota, carefully choosing her words. Not that Spock would take offense at her blunt remarks, but hedging offers the double benefit of making her statement less factually attackable and demonstrating Spock the correct manner to voice disagreement -- a dispute between them that has been ongoing for two months.

"Flirting is effective not only because it allows an individual to express interest for another individual, but because it can elicit interest from an initially uninterested individual. In fact, it is believed that flirting builds on deeply rooted sexual instincts, that exist across all human cultures."

"A fascinating hypothesis." For an instant, Spock seems lost in his thoughts, and Nyota dares to hope that the conversation is coming to a close.  
But Spock's eyes snap back to hers for an instant before staring intensely to the untouched stack of padds on his desk, and Nyota knows that he is not yet done.

"Does bodily violence constitute a typical occurrence in such interactions?"

"Wha-- No !" Nyota feels her cheeks burn. "Why do you even--", she stumbles, "I mean-- is it because of Kirk ?"

"I am only trying to ascertain the parameters and possible outcomes of this practice."

Nyota stares at him without a word, uncertain of her ability to form coherent sentences just now.

Spock seems to recognize how mortified she feels, a feat in decoding social cues for which she would have to congratulate him, once she finds her tongue again.

"Your hypothesis is correct. I observed yesterday that you subjected Cadet Kirk to what is colloquially referred to as a 'slap', and I admit I have been curious as to the reason for such a gesture on your part."

"Well, if you have to know, if I had punched Kirk in the face each time he tried to hit on me, he'd be beaten blue by now. But maybe I should have, so that creep wouldn't grab my--" Nyota stops abruptly.

"Well, anyway, that was definitely not flirting, and not a tolerated practice among civilized humans, so don't you start taking your cues from this obnoxious jerk."

"I never intended to."

"Anyway--," she starts, clearing her throat, but Spock starts speaking at the same time, cutting her short.

"Would you please demonstrate an instance of this practice ?"

"Flirting ?" He can't be asking her to slap him, certainly, although the alternative seems almost as unthinkable.

"Yes," says Spock, unblinking.

Nyota looks around, hoping for an interruption of any sort, except that of course, it's Saturday morning after the end of semester party, so it's only she and Spock in the whole Xenoling building, because obviously, who else but she would agree on grading essays instead of sleeping in for the first day of winter break?

When she glances back at him, he's still looking at her expectantly, so she feels kind of obligated to make him specify, "You want me to flirt… with you?"

"For the purpose of demonstration, exclusively."

He pauses. "Cadet Uhura, I understand how my request can be misconstrued, but I assure you that I only require your help for a better understanding of social situations, such as which you already provided numerous times in the past semester."

"Commander," Nyota interrupts.

"Your help in this matter has proven invaluable, Cadet, and I--"

"Commander," she says, more firmly this time, and he stops.

Nyota closes her eyes for a second. Then, she leans closer to Spock, watching him under her lashes.

"It would be my _pleasure_ to oblige, Commander, " she says in a low, breathy voice, "if only we could find someplace more _private_."

Nyota tries not to cringe at how badly she is overdoing it. But, hey, it's Spock. Naive Spock, who doesn't get it when half of the female cadets -- and a significant number of the male ones as well -- swoon before him. Clueless Spock, whom she witnessed turn down Dr. Khalomi's offer of a dinner date because he "did not require sustenance at this juncture" -- the poor woman had spent the next two weeks sulking and sending him evil glares, a fact that Spock had seemed completely oblivious of. So of course, in this instance, she has to lay it on thick to make him understand.

She lets out a small sigh, and deliberately places her hand on his arm, though at a safe distance from any exposed skin.

When she looks up, he is a bit closer than she had anticipated, and from this distance, she can see clearly how soft his skin looks. His mouth… she definitely isn't thinking about his mouth. She is almost sure she hears his breath catch, but there is a buzz in her ears like her blood is suddenly rushing to the head, and it makes it difficult to focus, makes everything a little fuzzy, like seen from a great distance.

Spock's eyes flick quickly to where her hand is placed over his instructor uniform, and she can see his throat working to swallow, once. When his eyes go back to hers, she could swear there is a slightly green tinge to his cheeks.

Then he speaks, and everything happens at once. Nyota drops her hand, the distance she didn't realize had disappeared suddenly between them again. She can feel a rush of something, adrenaline perhaps, that courses through her veins, and leaves her palms tingling and a bit clammy.

"Is that your demonstration ?", Spock asks. And Nyota very much wants to retort something snarky, if she only knew what, and if it was appropriate to throw sarcasm at one's half-human, socially awkward boss. She doesn't, and it's not, so she just nods once, without making eye contact.

"You have lowered the frequencies of your voice by 42% on a logarithmic scale, and employed tonal modulation to emphasize certain words. Fascinating. Did you use double meaning words?"

"I did."

"Was the term 'private' a reference to--"

"Yes, it was," she interrupts.

Nyota usually enjoys Commander Spock's company, but today's interaction has been nothing but an ordeal. One she can picture herself recounting to Gaila in a few hours, and that's only the thought of her roommate's probably outrageous comments when she'll recount the event to her that prevents Nyota from running right out of this room.

Nyota makes herself look up, and licks her parched lips, looking for something to say.

"So, do I get an A+ for my demonstration?", she says with a weak smile.

"It appeared to me as a pertinent illustration of the behavior. However, as I lack the required socialization context, I am unable to assess properly your technique in regards to its efficiency."

Spock's cheeks are flushed, and if he was not his stoic, Vulcan self, Nyota would almost think he is babbling.

"I was joking, sir. Another illogical habit that we humans use to defuse awkward social situations."

He doesn't answer, doesn't contest that said situation was indeed uncomfortable, and Nyota thinks it's the closest she has seen him be embarrassed.

He is not as impervious as she thought, and maybe she feels playful, maybe it's in retaliation against what he put her through, but she wants to tease him.

So, when she leans forward to take a padd on the stack, she might let herself come closer than strictly necessary, her forearm lightly brushing his.

And when she asks "Shall we start grading, sir?", her voice is possibly slightly lower than usual, her words a bit more articulated.

"Please do proceed, cadet."

The words are stiff and formal, but his voice is not, slightly rough at the edge. It sends a thrill down Nyota's spine, and she has to bite her lower lip in order not to let her grin show.

Nyota doesn't need to look at him to feel his eyes on her. She knows she shouldn't, but she deliberately crosses her legs, in a way she knows exposes more of her thighs. When she puts a stray strand of hair behind her ear and lets her hand trail along her neck, she is rewarded by a minute hitch in Spock's breath.

"Are you okay, Commander?" She raises her eyes from her padd, innocent concern showing on her face.

"'Okay' is an imprecise term," Spock replies automatically. His voice sounds a bit hollow, his dark eyes unfocused on the padd between his hands.

"If you say so," Nyota murmurs, trying to focus on the grading.

This is unexpected. Something unaccounted for, something that she never considered, even in her most private fantasies. That he could be -- would be -- accessible to seduction.  
She has to pause for an instant, glancing at Spock's striking features, his pointed ears that reveal him as not fully human, and the distraction of his full lips.

This is something she will need to factor in, later, when she can replay and dissect their discussion in the quiet of her own head; a shift of paradigm that she yet has to parse.

At this moment, she is just glad that she is still his TA for the next semester, and that she gets the time to figure this out.

Plenty of time.

This time, she doesn't bother hiding the smile that stretches her lips at the thought.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!  
> I hope you enjoyed this story. Please do not hesitate to leave a comment. I'd be really grateful for any feedback or constructive criticism. English is not my native language and I want to improve my future works. So, please let me know (gently!) what you think.
> 
> This is also the first time I write and share a fanfic online (yay!). I am currently working on other Spock/Uhura fics, but the process of writing is for me painfully slow, so I don't know when I'll be able to publish again. I'll do my best!
> 
> Thanks for reading this story, and double thanks to anyone who takes the time to leave a comment or kudos!
> 
> Stay safe, everyone.


End file.
